Kythera laying off 117 employees in Westlake Village

Kythera Biopharmaceuticals is permanently laying off 117 employees at its Westlake Village offices, according to a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The layoffs come as no surprise and appear to be part of Kythera’s merger with Dublin-based Allergan. On June 17, Allergan announced that it would buy Kythera for $2.1 billion. The cash and stock deal is for about $75 per share of Kythera stock.

Kythera’s value rocketed past $1 billion in April when Kybella, its new double-chin reducing drug, gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The drug got Kythera a lot of positive press and the company sold $310,000 worth of Kybella during the first two quarters.

On June 30, Kythera had about 212 full-time employees at its Westlake Village office, according to filings with the SEC.